Chrome Remote Desktop for Android now available for free from Google Play

Google has expanded its Chrome Remote Desktop app to its popular mobile platform, now allowing Android users to access their Windows or OS X PC from their mobile device.

To take advantage of this functionality and access a PC from an Android device, users will first have to download and install a remote access application to their desktop in order to make their Windows or Mac PCs accessible.

"Have you ever been out and about, and urgently needed to access a file that's sitting on your home computer? Since 2011, Chrome Remote Desktop has let you remotely access your machine from another laptop or computer in a free, easy and secure way. And now, with the release of the Chrome Remote Desktop for Android, we're making it possible for you to do the same thing from your Android device," Google announced in a blog post on Wednesday, April 16.

"If you haven't used Chrome Remote Desktop in the past, you can get started by enabling your Windows or Mac machine for remote access through the Chrome Web Store app. Next, simply launch the Android app on your phone or tablet, tap on the computer's name and start using your remote machine as if you were sitting right in front of it."

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Google further noted that a version of its Chrome Remote Desktop will be launching on iOS as well later this year, but has yet to provide any details or a specific timeframe.

In the meantime, the official Chrome Remote Desktop Android app is already available as a free download from the Google Play store at this link. The app is not very intuitive when it comes to ckicking and Google may still have a thing or two to work on, but overall it's quite seamless and responsive. It works smoothly and treats multiple monitors as one large desktop, which makes it easier and more convenient than constantly having to switch between them. Users will not have to keep a Chrome browser window open in order to enable remote control, as a process will run in the background. A PIN code will secure the computer, but users will still need to be logged into their Google account in the Android app as well.